Mira Legacy

The MIRA Movement in Education

In 1933, Sadhu Vaswani founded the MIRA Movement in Education in Hyderabad-Sind. Born out of the vision of a philosopher saint, the MIRA Movement aimed at the empowerment of women through the right type of education, for Sadhu Vaswani was a visionary who believed deeply in woman- power and woman-spirit, long before feminism was even thought of. He founded the MIRA School in Sind in 1932, and the model institution was all set to evolve into a MIRA University when the partition of the sub-continent forced him and his band of devoted workers to leave their homeland, Sind, and migrate to Maharashtra in independent India. The State of Maharashtra with its glorious history of culture and liberalism provided a fertile ground for the MIRA Movement to take new roots. The MIRA Schools and College were set up in quick succession.

Why MIRA?

Educational institutions set up by Sadhu Vaswani were christened ‘MIRA’.

The name MIRA is synonymous with nobility, wisdom, Indian culture, courage, purity, service, sacrifice and above all, dedication and devotion. It was the fervent aspiration of Sadhu Vaswani that the students of the MIRA institutions may draw inspiration from St. Mira’s message of dignity and dedication, self-assertion and self-surrender and grow in the heroic moulds of life to become strong and meet adversity with courage; that the students at all MIRA institutions may develop faith and determination to assert their dignity as women and not be oppressed by evil customs, but rebel against them in a peaceful way.

The MIRA Movement testifies to the adage: educate a man, and you educate an individual; educate a woman and you enlighten a whole family. The MIRA institutions seek to accomplish this ideal by providing an environment where the girl students can flourish and evolve to achieve their highest potential.

Sadhu Vaswani saw St. Mira as a free spirit. She was possessed of true bhakti – dedication absolute and total. In his immortal words:

St. Mira was an advocate of that true freedom for women, which grows out of love of God and service of the poor. With one strong sweep of her soul she rose heroically to break the fetters of Indian womanhood. She called them to join her in processions where the name of God was sung. She called them to form kirtan groups. She asked them to build their freedom in the message of the Flute.

The MIRA education aims at awakening consciousness to light, to joy. “Hitch your wagon to the star!” is the call of MIRA institutions to their students. Youth is hope, not despair! And if our beloved but broken India is to be rebuilt, it needs, in different parts, youths full of hope and faith and courage to lay a spiritual foundation of a new nation.

-Sadhu Vaswani

Educational Institutions set up after the holy founder dropped his physical body are named after HIM in his sacred memory. SVIMS is thus a part of the MIRA Legacy and aspires to nurture students in an environment that promotes character and competence.

Our Sister Institutions

There are seventeen educational institutions offering primary to higher and professional education across major cities in India and in London. We have three International schools in New Delhi, Hyderabad and Mumbai. St. MIRA’s College for Girls, established in 1962, was one of the pioneering colleges set up exclusively for girls in Pune. Today, it is one of the best rated colleges in Pune having been awarded the prestigious CPE [College with Potential for Excellence] by the UGC. The Sadhu Vaswani Mission forayed into the professional education sector by further setting up the Sadhu Vaswani College of Nursing and SVIMS in Pune.

The MIRA Movement’s headquarters is located in Pune, and the institutions flourish under an enlightened and supportive management headed by none other than Dada J.P. Vaswani, a world-renowned spiritual leader and messenger of India’ s spiritual heritage.